 If you do introduce formula feeds early on, you run the risk of sensitising your baby's system, which could lead to the early onset of allergic reactions. These include asthma, eczema, hayfever and many more. This can occur after only one bottle of formula milk.
The use of dummies or pacifiers is not encouraged as this tends to just confuse or frustrate breastfed babies. A clean finger can always be used in an emergency.
Keep your baby close to you and sleep when he sleeps, to try and conserve your energy. Let your partner help if you need a break. He can let the baby suck on his clean finger or pace the floors for a time, while you have a bath or go to the toilet in peace.
Your breasts will get noticeably larger and tense when your milk 'comes in' (this is known as engorgement) and will probably leak on one side as you feed from the other - this is when the breastpads come in useful.
Let the baby complete a feed from one breast until he has had enough and lets go. If you take him off half way through a feed, he will not empty the breast properly, which could cause problems later.
Move over to the second breast, if the baby is still looking for more. If he is sound asleep, leave him to wake up naturally and give him the second breast next time.
If your baby is very sleepy or affected by drugs from the labour, you should initially feed him three hourly until the effects wear off. You could try changing his nappy to wake him up. If you think he has still not taken a good feed, you could try changing him after each side. Alternatively you could give him some expressed milk from a spoon or cup. This phase should be short-lived.
The baby will naturally lose about 10% of his birthweight in the first two to three days. This is perfectly normal - he has enough fat stores to deal with this loss. Once the milk 'comes in', he should start to regain this and by ten to 14 days will probably be back to his birthweight.
A lot of babies become jaundiced (yellow tinged skin colour) in the first week of life. This is called physiological jaundice and should have disappeared by 14 days. This is caused by the breakdown of the red blood cells that were at a high level prior to birth (allowing for maximum oxygen levels during labour). Breastfeeding will help to flush out the by-products of this breakdown, so the condition will correct itself. Extra supplements of water or formula milk are NOT necessary. Sometimes the baby will be more sleepy as a result of jaundice. In this instance, it is advisable to wake the baby up for frequent feeds until the jaundice has passed.
Never time your feeds - it is not necessary.
You may find it useful to write down which side you have fed on as it is easy to forget. Alternatively you could leave a breastpad in the side you are due to feed from next.
This can be an exhausting time, but will also be very rewarding. Try to make the most of these precious few days by getting to know your new baby.
Get as much help as possible and get your partner to do any household chores. This is when the ready meals and takeaways come into their own. Older children can also help out and toddlers will enjoy being spoiled by grandparents or friends. Prioritise and remember that most things can wait, whereas your new baby cannot!
When it comes to friends and family visiting, it is up to you to set the ground rules. Especially in the first few days, when you are trying to establish feeding, keep visitors to the absolute minimum. People will understand and can see you all at a later date. If you are embarassed about feeding in public, give yourself time and your confidence will grow daily. Once you have settled into breastfeeding, you will be surprised at how easy it is to feed anywhere, without having to expose yourself to anyone. This is where your partner can help, by giving you the time and space required to establish a feeding pattern.
Gradually, by feeding on demand you will fall into some sort of routine (although it will be like no other you have experienced before). This is when you stand at your bedroom window at 3am in the morning and wonder if you are the only person awake - you are not! News24 (we didn 't have cable TV then!) and the Open University programmes will become intimate friends. It is amazing what interesting subjects you will learn about!
© Sharon Trotter
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